Key Takeaways:

• Ripple has received MAS approval to expand its MPI license and offer fully regulated digital-asset payment services in Singapore.
• The upgrade strengthens Singapore’s role as a regulated crypto payments hub and boosts Ripple’s APAC reach.
• The move follows Ripple’s Palisade acquisition, signaling a broader push into regulated crypto infrastructure.

Ripple announced today, 1 December 2025, that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has approved an expanded scope of payment activities under its existing Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for its Singapore subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte. Ltd. (RMA). 

This license upgrade enables Ripple to offer a broader suite of regulated payment services across the country. The move reinforces Singapore’s role as a significant hub for regulated digital asset infrastructure and marks a new chapter in Ripple’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) ambitions.

What the expanded MPI license means

Before this, Ripple’s MPI license, obtained in 2023 under Singapore’s Payment Services Act, permitted it to offer certain regulated digital payment token (DPT) services in the Southeast Asian city-state. These services were mainly on-demand liquidity (ODL) solutions that allowed Ripple to use XRP as a bridge currency for cross-border payments. DPTs are basically cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins that are regulated by the MAS.

With this new approval, Ripple can now provide comprehensive payment services, including fund collection, custody, token swaps, and payouts, essentially managing the full end-to-end transaction cycle for institutional clients. 

According to Ripple, their “Ripple Payments” platform combines DPTs such as XRP and their stablecoin RLUSD (pegged 1:1 to the US dollar) with a global payout network to facilitate faster, more transparent cross-border transfers. The expanded license allows this functionality to be offered under full regulatory compliance, and reduces costs and complexity usually associated with the process. 

The license expansion means banks, fintechs, and crypto companies in the nation can now use Ripple’s platform, without building their own infrastructure, to enable compliant, blockchain-based payments. 

Ripple’s response and the regulatory context in Singapore

Ripple President Monica Long stressed that the expanded license will facilitate Ripple’s continued growth in Singapore and help it build infrastructure that financial institutions can use to move money efficiently, swiftly, and safely. 

Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director, added: “The Asia Pacific region leads the world in digital asset use, with on-chain activity rising approximately 70% year-on-year. With this broader scope, we can better support institutions driving that growth.”

From the regulator’s side, the approval underscores MAS’s commitment to giving clear, stable regulation to digital-asset firms willing to meet compliance and transparency standards. Singapore has long been considered a global leader in crafting regulatory frameworks for digital payments and tokens. 

Why this expanded MPI license matters, especially for Asia-Pacific

This development is more than a regulatory checkbox. Ripple’s regulatory clearance to expand payment services implies that MAS is ok with digital asset firms operating under mainstream financial regulatory frameworks, and not on the fringes. For businesses, this lowers friction for integrating tokenized payments; for institutions, it gives confidence in compliance and risk controls.

Given Singapore’s central role as Asia’s financial hub and Ripple’s Asia-Pacific headquarters being based there since 2017, the expanded license could accelerate the adoption of DPT-based payments across the region, potentially changing cross-border remittances, business payments and fintech rails. 

Notably, this approval comes shortly after Ripple’s acquisition of Palisade earlier on 3 November 2025, signalling a strategy to combine regulated payment infrastructure with broader crypto and blockchain services.